Free standing fireplace



Dec. 6, 1955 c Rps 2,725,872

FREE STANDING FIREPLACE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 INVENTOR. Gena/0 M P/tharas A TTORNE-Yf United States Patent FREE STANDING FIREPLACE Gerald M. Richards, San Francisco, Calif. Application February 5, 1952, Serial No. 269,945 1 Claim. (Cl. 126-62) This invention relates to fireplaces and particularly to that type of fireplace which is adapted to stand away from and be unsupported by a wall or other structure or vertical portion of a building.

The conventional fireplace is well known and consists generally of a masonry or other refractory lined cavity which depends, for the production of heat, upon reflection from the back wall. Numerous attempts have been made to provide hollow shells about the fireplace for the purpose of providing heat by convection currents as well. However, the principal heat has been reflected heat and radiant heat with convection being a secondary and minor source.

The conventional stove which stands clear of a wall relied primarily upon radiation as a means of dissipating its heat throughout a room. Natural convection currents of course occur and there have been some attempts made to enhance these natural currents by providing baflles and other means, even including fans. However for the most part, most stoves depend primarily upon radiation with convection a secondary source. Reflected heat is practically nonexistent.

Various attempts have been made to provide free standing elements in the past but none have, in my opinion, utilized reflection to its full extent as a means for dis tributing heat throughout a room.

It is an object of this invention to provide a free standing fireplace which dissipates the heat throughout the room by radiation, reflection and convection.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a free standing fireplace of the character described which may be easily manufactured and which utilizes reflection, radiation and convection, as means of circulating heat through a room.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a side elevational view of my device.

Figure 2 represents a front elevational view.

Figure 3 represents a top plan view of a device incorporating my invention.

As illustrated in the drawings, my device consists of a pair of substantially identical shells and 11 which form a fire-holding receptacle and hood, respectively. It will be seen that the receptacle 10 and hood 11 are semicircular in plan, as viewed in Figure 3, and that they are belled or dished out in section. The receptacle 10 and hood 11 are adapted to be joined along their rear straight edges by a substantially vertical wall 12 as by welding or any other suitable manner. The entire assembly is adapted to be supported by the legs 13, which support the same above and a predetermined distance from the floor. The hood 11 is provided with an orifice which receives a conventional flue or stack 14 which carries away the products of combustio Spaced from the rear wall 12 I have provided a second wall 16 which may be formed of any suitable heat resistant or insulating material. hTe member 16 is mounted upon short side wall sections 17 and 18 and provides an air space 19 between it and the wall 12.

The receptacle 10 is adapted to support the fuel and is of sufficient depth and width to contain the burning fuel. The hood 11 traps the products of combustion and leads the same to the flue or stack 14 through which they are vented to the outside atmosphere.

It will be noted that the wall 12 extends the full height of the device. The wall 12 will reflect the heat outwardly into the room through the area between the receptacle 10 and the hood 11. Some heat will be radiated through this opening and some heat will be transferred from the device by natural convection currents about it.

The area 19 between the walls 12 and 16 will alsopromote the flow of some convection currents but, however, this is a secondary use of that space and of the wall 16. The primary use of the wall 16 is to provide a protective wall so that my fireplace may be placed near to or adjacent the wall of a building or a room without damaging the finish thereof. In the event my fireplace is spaced at a substantial distance from the wall of a building or a room, the wall 16 forms a protection against children or animals coming in contact with the heated wall 12.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that I have provided a free standing heating structure which is adapted to be placed in a room at some distance or in a position remote from the walls of the room. To this extent it differs from the conventional fireplace. However, like the conventional fireplace it utilizes reflection and radiation to spread the heat into the room. However, unlike a fireplace, convection is utilized to its fullest extent.

It will also be apparent that I have provided a device which, like a stove, utilizes radiation and convection but, unlike a stove, utilizes reflection to a substantial extent.

In addition, I have provided a device which is symmetrical in design and therefore pleasing to the eye. The device, furthermore, is simple to manufacture, easy to assemble and exceptionally easy to maintain and repair. It forms its own grate and support for the fuel and the fire. It has no doors, or other movable parts which are apt to become broken or, which when heated, are difficult to handle. The receptacle is open as is the receptacle in a fireplace.

I claim:

In a free standing fireplace, a receptacle formed substantially as a segment from a truncated ellipsoid having an inperforate wall adapted to hold a fire, a plurality of legs for supporting said receptacle in a spaced relationship with respect to a supporting surface, said wall of said receptacle sloping forwardly and upwardly to provide a passage for convection currents between the sup porting surface and the wall of said receptacle, a hood positioned over said receptacle in a spaced relationship thereto, said hood being formed substantially as said receptacle but inverted with respect to said receptacle, a flue extending from said hood to carry away the products of combustion, a vertical planar wall joining and covering the truncated portions of said receptacle and said hood, said planar wall having a width substantially equal to the width of said receptacle and said hood, a vertical planar protective wall of substantially the same area as said first named planar wall, and means for supporting said second named planar wall in a plane parallel with the plane of said first named wall and in a spaced relationship thereto to provide a passage for convection currents therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 21,938 Buchanan Nov. 2, 1858 60,220 McMillen Dec. 4, 1866 76,565 Walker Apr. 7, 1868 89,693 Sanford May 4, 1869 367,876 Wellington Aug. 9, 1887 559,083 Pierce Apr. 28, 1896 

